Uncategorized – Vrede en Lust Estatehttps://www.vnl.co.za
Vrede en Lust is a family owned and managed estate in the beautiful Franschhoek Valley, South AfricaWed, 07 Dec 2016 08:21:58 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.4Marketing Managerhttps://www.vnl.co.za/2016/07/11/marketing-manager/
Mon, 11 Jul 2016 07:11:13 +0000https://www.vnl.co.za/?p=9307Vrede en Lust Estate, a family owned and managed historic wine estate, is looking for a dynamic marketing manager to join their executive team. The beautiful winery is located in Simondium on the slopes of the beautiful Simonsberg between Paarl and Franschhoek. Vrede en Lust owns vineyards along the Simonsberg and in Elgin.

The Marketing Manager is responsible for the marketing of the world class wine range, wine tourism, hospitality offerings and Lust Bistro and Bakery. The hospitality business comprises of our popular wedding and conference venues along with our Manor House, Jonkmanshuis and Vineyard Suites accommodation. The marketing manager reports to the Managing Partner and will work closely with the winemakers, the sales team, the hospitality team, as well as the admin team.

We have built a very strong direct to consumer business and are now busy growing our trade business. Vrede en Lust has grown strongly and is close to its full capacity of producing 600,000 bottles per year. This is not a 9 to 5 job – it will be demanding but very rewarding for a job well done! Our current marketing manager and her husband are relocating and thus we are searching hard to find the perfect person for this key position.

The successful candidate will be an innovative thinker and experienced leader, able to work under pressure with extraordinary communication, planning, execution and people skills. A proven track record in wine marketing or similar FMCG industry is essential, along with the relevant tertiary qualifications. Sales experience in the wine industry will be a definite advantage.

The ideal candidate will have good relationships with industry media as well as trade personalities. A passion for wine is essential. If you believe in the the huge growth potential in wine tourism, keen to work in a beautiful environment and would like to help grow the brand of one of South Africa’s leading family owned wine estates, then this is the ideal opportunity!

Duties & responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

]]>Vrede en Lust launch ‘Vinified by the Sun’ logohttps://www.vnl.co.za/2016/02/02/launch-vinifiedlogo/
Tue, 02 Feb 2016 10:00:58 +0000https://www.vnl.co.za/?p=8677Pioneering wine farm Vrede en Lust, on the outskirts of the magnificent Franschhoek Valley, is ringing in the new year on an innovative note. In addition to the release of two exceptional wines, this popular winery is introducing its new Vinified by the Sunlogo, celebrating its commitment to clean, renewable energy and environmental sustainability.

The Vinified by the Sunlogo, which will feature on all new Vrede en Lust wine labels, refers to the farm’s 220 KVA solar power generating system. The impressive installation of solar panels occupies an expansive stretch in the vineyards, and allows the farm to operate completely independent of the national grid in sunlight hours, supplying sufficient electricity for the running of the cellar, restaurant, offices, wine tasting and the whole hospitality division, even in the peak season.

Built in 2013, the solar installation was the first and biggest of its kind in the South African wine industry. In its first year of operation, it allowed Vrede en Lust to save 297.92 TCO2 – thereby nearly cutting its carbon footprint in half. Yet the farm’s commitment to environmental sustainability spans much further, and encompasses various aspects of farming and production practices, like recycling of all waste, reducing the use of chemicals and the environmentally-safe treatment of effluent water, reducing water wastage and applying gravity irrigation in all vineyards. As an industry leader in renewable energy, Vrede en Lust is continuously looking for new ways to lessen its impact on the environment and utilise scarce natural resources sustainably. This is especially relevant at a time when persistent extreme dry and hot conditions across the winelands, coupled with economic pressures, are forcing farmers to find innovative solutions to overcome grave challenges to their livelihood.

Etienne Buys, Johanna Allen, Dana Buys and Johan Buys (back)

Proudly displaying the Vinified by the Sunlogo, are the farm’s newly released Lady J Syrah 2012 and Red Shale Sauvignon Blanc 2015. To commemorate the 80th birthday of the Buys family matriarch, ouma Johanna, the award-winning Syrah was renamed in her honour and epitomises the qualities of this beloved woman. An elegant, rich red wine with finesse! Aged in selected oak, the fine, integrated tannins are complemented by opulent red fruit and blueberries with subtle spice, making for a luxurious drinking experience. The wine is priced at R105.00 (VAT included) at the cellar.

The Red Shale Sauvignon Blanc is made from grapes cultivated in the fertile red shale soils of Vrede en Lust’s Elgin farm, Casey’s Ridge, which specializes in the production of cool climate white varieties. It is a complex Sauvignon Blanc, with a good mineral backbone and vibrant acidity, balanced by well-defined layers of fruit. Think tangy pear, passion fruit as well as green apple and gooseberry. The Red Shale Sauvignon Blanc forms part of the Artisan Range, an exclusive range of wines handcrafted by the winemakers in small batches for Wine Club members. The cellar door price is R99.00 per bottle. These new releases and the complete range are also available through Vrede en Lust’s online wine shop and at selected fine wine retailers.

Our winemakers will be showing guests the fun side of wine with an exclusive ‘Fruit & Wine’ tasting experience. The Fruit and Wine tastings can be booked on a first come first serve basis at the following time slots 12h00 & 14h00.

A dedicated ‘nanny-service’ with a safe kids entertainment area will take care of our little guests in order to give parents time to enjoy the celebrations.

The Harvest Festival will take place on the 27th of February 2016 at Vrede en Lust Estate Franschhoek. Gates will open at 10h00 and close at 17h00.

Tickets can be booked at Vrede en Lust Estate at a cost of R150 pp with the exception of children younger than 12 will enter at no additional charge.

Tickets include full access to the event, a Vrede en Lust wine glass and a complementary drink on arrival. Food can be purchased at an additional cost.

For more information or to book your tickets contact Hannelie at info@vnl.co.za or 021-874 1611.

]]>Good fortune and prosperityhttps://www.vnl.co.za/2015/11/20/good-fortune-and-prosperity/
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 09:52:27 +0000https://www.vnl.co.za/?p=8508Most of you might be familiar with the old saying which goes ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’ which refers to what brides should wear on one of the most precious days in their lives – their wedding day.

It’s one of the most well-known wedding traditions out there indicating that a bride must wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue on her wedding day for good luck! The trope comes from an English rhyme dated to 1898, which adds that a bride should also have a sixpence in her shoe.

Something old represents continuity; something new offers optimism for the future; something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness; something blue stands for purity, love, and fidelity; and a sixpence in your shoe is a wish for good fortune and prosperity, although this remains largely a British custom.

Something old about our beautiful estate is the rich history and heritage which dates back to 1688 when Flemish Merchant Jacques de Savoye, his wife and three children was granted a piece of land at the foothills of the Napoleonsberg (today known as Simonsberg) and named it Vrede en Lust which means ‘Peace and Delight’ when translated to english.

After (what seemed like) hibernation of our hospitality department during off-peak season we underwent some major changes and improvements to both the accommodation and function venue. The gardens now boasts with 2 new formal ceremonial and pre-drinks lawns and we have 10 brand new Vineyard Suites situated in the vineyards! We now also have a lovely new conference facility which could easily accommodate 40 people. This new addition to the Vrede en Lust portfolio offers optimism for the prosperous future of the estate and we are blessed and thankful that we are now able to share this with you!

We have the most beautiful weddings at Vrede en Lust all year long. The happy couples who are so much in love and envision their future together inspire us to envision our future with that same borrowed happiness they share on their special day with us. Thank you to each and every bride and groom who’ve let us ‘borrow’ their love and happiness – we feel honored.

The ‘something blue’ is the purity of the earth from which our fruit are grown. Our love for mother nature and this beautiful peace of land which was carried on to us from a time when it was rugged with dense forests, lions and tigers roaming.

With all the good fortune and prosperity we’ve received during 2015 we’ll pray that 2016 will be even more prosperous and just to be sure – we’ll be wearing a sixpence in our shoe.

For more information on our Functions venue, Vineyard Suites and other accommodation contact us at info@vnl.co.za or 021-874 1611.

“Load shedding is a measure of last resort to prevent the collapse of the power system country-wide. When there is insufficient power station capacity to supply the demand (load) from all the customers, the electricity system becomes unbalanced, which can cause it to trip out country-wide (a blackout), and which could take days to restore.” according to a report published on Eskom’s website

It seems the only thing everyone is reporting and talking about these days is the load shedding crisis of the country and the implication on our daily life, not even to mention on the economy and our businesses. The question is though; how many of us truly understand what is going on and why this is happening? We are bombarded on a daily basis by complicated terms and load shedding information and schedules are forwarded to our inboxes. The only rational thing for us to do is try and manage our daily lives around this crisis and more importantly as businesses start preparing for the future to prevent further loss. The future of South Africa’s electricity supply is looking bleak and it seems that we haven’t even experienced half of what is to come. It will now be up to business owners to start looking after themselves and make provision for future instances; follow the solar route if financially possible or at least start investing in generators.

The Vrede en Lust solar project

As a business we are proud to be able to say that this national crisis is not affecting us and we can carry on as usual. Apart from our extensive solar project we are also running 4 generators on the estate, making sure our business can go ahead as normal. Are we lucky? I would say not – we have been preparing for something like this since 2008 and can now finally reap the benefits of careful preparation. We are fortunate enough that this is not affecting us negatively at all and can assure our clients that should the electricity be out at your home or business you are welcome to still visit us for your daily breakfast, lunch, dinner or wine tasting.

Harvest is in full swing at the moment and power outages can have catastrophic implications for wine producers at this stage of the game. Major parts of the vine to cellar part of harvest is reliant on electricity and without the necessary power supply, your whole harvest can possibly go to waste. Apart from our 220kva solar panels our saving grace in this instance is the 250kva generator in the cellar assisting with our power needs during our scheduled load shedding times.

The 250kva generator in our cellar is part of 4 generators we have on the farm the assist our solar power during outages.

We understand that most businesses and the majority of the general public are not fortunate to have these preventative measures in place and we have therefore compiled some information to share with our customers. We hope to assist in shedding some light (pardon the pun) and hopefully help you to prepare for the dark hours of the day.

For the majority of the time we were “lucky enough” to be dabbling between Stage one and two but Eskom announced the implementation of Stage three yesterday due to decreased generating capacity…

Where is this going and are we facing the possibility of a total blackout in future? According to Eskom spokesperson, Khulu Phasiwe the dangers of this are remote and they are doing everything in their power to prevent this. “There are a number of measures that have been put in place to make sure that this does not happen. This includes mechanical and human resources that have been put in place so that we mitigate against a blackout”, Phasiwe said.

Making sense of it all:

Stage 1 (allows for up to 1000 MW of the national load to be shed) requires the least amount of load shedding
Once for two hours in a three day period (ie. you will either be on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday schedule)
Once for four hours every 4th day in Eskom-supplied Johannesburg areas (this is to co-incide with City Power’s 4 hour schedule)
This stage is scheduled within the main load shedding period which is Mondays to Saturdays between 05:00 and 21:30.
Each of the time periods has an additional 30 minutes added to allow for switching of networks in a way that will not damage the Eskom power system.

Eskom will begin load shedding customers at the start of the period (for example from 05:00), and will have all scheduled customers switched off within the first half hour (that is, by 05:30).
At the end of the period, after the two hours (that is, by 07:00), Eskom will start returning power to customers and should have them all back within half an hour (that is, by 07:30).

Stage 2 (allows for up to 2000 MW of the national load to be shed) will double the frequency of Stage 1, which means you will be scheduled for load shedding every day, Monday to Saturday, between 05:00 and 21:30

Stage 3 (allows for up to 4000 MW of the national load to be shed) will double the frequency of Stage 2, as well as covering the overnight period from 21:30 to 05:30, not covered by the other 2 stages. This means you should be scheduled 3 times a day, midnight to midnight, Monday to Sunday.
If more load needs to be shed than has been scheduled in Stages 1, 2 and 3, then National Control will instruct additional, unscheduled load shedding. This means your power may be out outside of your scheduled times.

We trust the above has been a helpful guide. Our business remains open despite any power cuts by the power utility.

]]>Cotage Fromage closed for businesshttps://www.vnl.co.za/2013/05/27/cotage-fromage-closed-for-business/
https://www.vnl.co.za/2013/05/27/cotage-fromage-closed-for-business/#respondMon, 27 May 2013 10:18:34 +0000http://www.vnl.co.za/?p=5944Vrede en Lust announced the closure of Cotage Fromage Restaurant, which has been trading independently from Vrede en Lust as YellowSpot Trading 21 CC, for the last five years. YellowSpot Trading rented the premises and contents from Vrede en Lust and has been battling financially for the last two years. Vrede en Lust in the end had no choice but to terminate the YellowSpot lease with effect of the 26th of May 2013.

The restaurant will be closed until further notice. Vrede en Lust has started with the process of finding a new tenant for the farm restaurant and hopes to communicate news in this regard during June. The restaurant will also be upgraded and improved under management of a new operator to ensure we deliver a product, to the same high standards as the Vrede en Lust Cellar Door and Hospitality operations. The new restaurant will be open in time for the upcoming season and will continue to deliver a high quality catering experience to our clients making use of our hospitality facilities.

“The Franschhoek valley has changed a lot in the last five years, with stiff new competition opening up around us all the time. It is a very competitive valley and one has to keep up with changing times and environment. We are confident that the new restaurant will cater to the needs of today’s marketplace and compete as well as Vrede en Lust does,” says Etienne Buys, managing partner of Vrede en Lust.

To work with Vrede en Lust and its clients and potential clients in order to build the Vrede en Lust brand and to promote the sales of Vrede en Lust’s wine range in Pretoria.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop a strategy and sales plan to achieve sales objective and budget set by management.

Execute the strategic sales plan, target correct clients, service those clients and acquire new clients

Sell wines at promotional opportunities

Sign up Wine Club members directly where possible.

Doing corporate and direct tasting events

Capturing all client information on the company’s online database

Weekly reports on sales progress

Interaction with company’s accounts and admin team to ensure that all logistical operations run smoothly.

Work with the VnL team in organizing marketing events including: Wine Shows, Gourmet Dinners and Participation in other events that promote the VnL brand and product range.

To apply for this position please send your CV and cover letter to madeleine@vnl.co.za

Should you not hear from us within 2 weeks of application, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Closing date for applications: 19 April 2013

]]>https://www.vnl.co.za/2013/03/28/job-opportunity-at-vrede-en-lust-sales-representative-for-pretoria-and-surrounds/feed/0Lynsey & Declanhttps://www.vnl.co.za/2012/09/12/lynsey-declan-february-2012/
https://www.vnl.co.za/2012/09/12/lynsey-declan-february-2012/#respondWed, 12 Sep 2012 10:12:52 +0000http://www.vnl.co.za/?p=4351Beautiful Lynsey and her handsome prince got married on a stunning day in February earlier this year. Even though they both live in London they have a special connection with South Africa, Declan originally being from South Africa, and chose our beautiful venue as their dream wedding venue making sure all their guests flew in for the lavish affair.

We received this letter from Lynsey this morning and thought we should share it on the blog. We will let the images tell the rest of the story:

I wanted to write a testimonial for the website as we really did have the most amazing time, please see below:

‘Vrede en Lust, is the most beautiful and magical place on earth, and even better than the photo’s make you believe. Yolanda was amazing throughout the whole planning process, we really couldn’t have asked for a better wedding planner, she listened to every detail to ensure our day was absolutely perfect, and she was supported by the lovely Franlie who was also brilliant! The food was absolutely delicious, the waiting staff were so friendly, especially Alexander, who was amazing and the girls in the tasting room were lovely, when it rained in the morning, they were so supportive, telling me everything will be fine, and they were right, as the sun came out just in time for the ceremony, what a fabulous team! It makes me sad to think it’s all over, but we have the most amazing memories, I wish we could do it all over again! I can’t wait until the next time we visit, it’s just such a wonderful place. Thank you Vrede en Lust for giving us our dream wedding! Love Lynsey & Declan Greggain-Smith xxx’

Thanks again for everything, I think we should be coming out to SA in November as we are hoping to buy a property out there, so I’m sure we’ll stop by for a glass of wine or two :-) and re-live the whole experience again!

Thank you so much!

Love Lynsey & Declan xxx

Photos by: Yvette Gilbert

]]>https://www.vnl.co.za/2012/09/12/lynsey-declan-february-2012/feed/0Franschhoek Uncorked – 1 & 2 Septemberhttps://www.vnl.co.za/2012/08/24/franschhoek-uncorked-1-2-september/
https://www.vnl.co.za/2012/08/24/franschhoek-uncorked-1-2-september/#respondFri, 24 Aug 2012 13:00:01 +0000http://www.vnl.co.za/?p=4412Say goodbye to the grey moods of winter and celebrate the start of spring by heading off to the picturesque Franschhoek Wine Valley over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of September for the annual Franschhoek Uncorked festival. Franschhoek wineries in and around the scenic valley welcome the fresh, new season, using the opportunity to showcase their exciting new vintages and releases.

A French affair at Vrede en Lust! Travel to France with Vrede & Lust for a lavish French Festival with our ladies in red. With real French perfume from Marie Antoinette, beautiful decor items for sale and an all-around taste sensation with beautiful cheese platters, rich, tasty mussels and wine that will tantalize your taste buds, you can enjoy French music in the Vrede en Lust plaza whilst overlooking the beautiful Franschhoek mountains. We will also treat our guests with a Lindt chocolate promotion and a few special wine offers only available during the weekend of the festival.

]]>https://www.vnl.co.za/2012/08/24/franschhoek-uncorked-1-2-september/feed/0We are doing our bit for Mandela Day 2012https://www.vnl.co.za/2012/07/18/we-are-doing-our-bit-for-mandela-day-2012/
https://www.vnl.co.za/2012/07/18/we-are-doing-our-bit-for-mandela-day-2012/#respondWed, 18 Jul 2012 08:47:02 +0000http://www.vnl.co.za/?p=4108To celebrate Madiba’s birthday and donate 67min to charity we have decided to make it worth your while as well. We will be donating 10% of all wine purchases made through our online shop between 13h00 and 14h07 today to a local charity. This enables you to take part in doing good for the less fortunate from right behind your computer while adding some award-winning wines to your collection.